TORONTO - Thousands of people took to the streets in downtown Toronto on Monday to celebrate in annual Labour Day festivities.

The theme of this year's march and rally was "Unite Against Austerity" and brought together members from various unions across the province.

Parade organizer John Cartwright said it was important for workers to send the message that they will not accept an austerity agenda from the provincial government.

"People are here to express their anger," said Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council.

"The politicians are happy to give billions in corporate tax cuts and say to ordinary people, 'You have to tighten your belts' while the rich are getting richer everyday."

In the past few weeks, Ontario's teachers have been in a labour dispute with the provincial government over new legislation that will freeze their wages for at least two years.

The Liberals have also warned that other public-sector workers may also face a similar fate.

Cartwright said the large turnout was a signal that the labour movement is still going strong in Canada.

"This is a day about unions and our roles in society," he said.

"It's the labour movement that have taken poverty wage jobs in manufacturing, construction and elsewhere and turned them into decent jobs where people can raise a family on. That's been our historical role in society."

Those taking part in the parade included members of the Ontario Federation of Labour, Canadian Auto Workers, Canadian Union of Public Employees, and federal and provincial New Democrats.

Federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair was seen marching through the crowd.

"Today, we march in solidarity with our brothers and sisters and we dedicate ourselves to build, in Canada, a more responsible economy where no one is left behind," he said in a statement.

Teachers, paramedics, firefighters and energy workers were among those making appearances.

Many were dressed in their union colours, waving flags and carrying placards.

Some people marched, danced and bands could be heard playing up and down the four-kilometre-long parade route.

Labour day events were also scheduled in several other locations across the country.

For more than a century, Labour Day has been celebrated on the first Monday of September each year.

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Countries With The Widest Income Gap

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> Gini coefficient: 0.330
> Change in income inequality: +21.8%
> Employment rate: 72.3% (6th highest)
> Change in income of the rich: +2.5% per year
> Change in income of the poor: +1.1% per year
New Zealand performs well by a number of economic indicators, including employment, where it ranks sixth highest out of the 27 OECD countries in the study. Income in New Zealand has increased across the board since the 1980s, but the percentage annual increase among the top decile was more than twice as great as among the bottom decile. Among OECD nations, capital income in New Zealand as a percentage of total household income grew the most for the richest group and decreased substantially for the poorest group.
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> Gini coefficient: 0.336
> Change in income inequality: +8.7%
> Employment rate: 72.4% (5th highest)
> Change in income of the rich: +4.5% per year
> Change in income of the poor: +3% per year
The difference in the annual increase in income between the richest and the poorest in Australia from the mid-1980s to 2008 is one of the largest among all countries in the study. The average annual change in income for the bottom decile was 3%, compared with the top decile's 4.5%. This caused the Gini coefficient to increase 8.7% over those years. Australia has one of the highest minimum wages, as a percentage of average wages, of all the G-20 countries. The country also has a fairly high employment rate.
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> Gini coefficient: 0.337
> Change in income inequality: +9.0%
> Employment rate: 56.9% (3rd lowest)
> Change in income of the rich: +1.1% per year
> Change in income of the poor: +0.2% per year
In Italy, income inequality increased 9% between 1985 and 2008. According to the OECD, earnings for the wealthiest 10% increased an average of 1.1% each year, while earnings for the poorest 10% grew just 0.2% annually. Italy has the third-lowest employment rate among the 27 nations in the study, with just 56.9% of working-age adults holding jobs in 2008. Since 1985, unemployment benefits declined by more than 50% to one of the lowest recipient rates in the OECD.
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> Gini coefficient: 0.345
> Change in income inequality: +7.9%
> Employment rate: 70.3% (10th highest)
> Change in income of the rich: +2.5% per year
> Change in income of the poor: +0.9% per year
The UK had one of the biggest increases in the income gap between the wealthy and the poor over the past two and a half decades. On average, the income of the bottom 10% increased 0.9%, while income for the top 10% grew 2.5% per year. After Israel and Australia, the UK had the third-largest difference between the top decile's annual income increase and the bottom decile's increase. The income ratio of the wealthiest citizens to the poorest citizens is 10 to one.
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> Gini coefficient: 0.353
> Change in income inequality: n/a
> Employment rate: 65.6% (14th highest)
> Change in income of the rich: +1.1% per year
> Change in income of the poor: +3.6% per year
Despite its high Gini coefficient, Portugal's income inequality has been improving. From the mid-1980s to the late 2000s, the incomes of the country's poorest increased an average 3.6% each year. The incomes of the richest grew only 1.1% annually. The country has increased its efforts to redistribute income since the mid-1980s, such as through benefits for the unemployed.
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> Gini coefficient: 0.371
> Change in income inequality: +13.8%
> Employment rate: 60.2% (7th lowest)
> Change in income of the rich: +2.4% per year
> Change in income of the poor: -1.1% per year
In Israel, the average income of the bottom 10% actually decreased between 1985 and 2008. On average, income of the top 10% increased 2.4% per year. During the same period, income of the poorest 10% declined 1.1% each year -- the worst rate of decline among the 27 nations studied. Only one other country, Japan, saw its bottom decile's income fall as well. According to the OECD, the top 10% of Israel's residents make 14 times more than the poorest 10%.
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> Gini coefficient: 0.378
> Change in income inequality: +12.1%
> Employment rate: 66.7% (13th highest)
> Change in income of the rich: +1.9% per year
> Change in income of the poor: +0.5% per year
Inequality in the United States increased significantly from 1985 to 2008, putting it in the fourth-worst spot in the study. As with many other countries in which income inequality has increased, average income has gone up across all income groups since the mid-1980s, but not equally. The income of the wealthiest 10% has greatly outpaced the poorest 10%. The share enjoyed by the top 0.1% in total pretax income quadrupled in the 30 years to 2008.
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> Gini coefficient: 0.409
> Change in income inequality: -5.8%
> Employment rate: 46.3% (the lowest)
> Change in income of the rich: +0.1% per year
> Change in income of the poor: +0.8% per year
Turkey was one of the few OECD countries to experience a narrowing of the gap between rich and poor, with income inequality improving 5.8% between 1985 and 2008. However, it still has the third-highest income inequality among the countries in this study. Part of Turkey's problem is a relatively low number of government programs to aid the poorest citizens. The average government social expenditure among OECD nations is close to 20% of GDP, while it spends just above 10% -- the third-lowest percentage. The wealthiest 10% of Turkey's residents make 14 times more, on average, than the poorest 10%.
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> Gini coefficient: 0.476
> Change in income inequality: +5.1%
> Employment rate: 60.4% (8th lowest)
> Change in income of the rich: +1.7% per year
> Change in income of the poor: +0.8% per year
Mexico has one of the highest rates of income inequality. Among all OECD countries, Mexico has the lowest amount of public social expenditure as a percentage of GDP. It also has the lowest unemployment benefit recipient rates. Finally, the country has the lowest minimum wages as a percentage of average wages.
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> Gini coefficient: 0.494
> Change in income inequality: n/a
> Employment rate: 59.3% (4th lowest)
> Change in income of the rich: +1.2% per year
> Change in income of the poor: +2.4% per year
Chile is one of the few countries where the income of the poor increased at a higher annual rate than the income of the wealthy, 2.4% to 1.2%. Nevertheless, the South American nation has the worst income inequality among the 27 OECD nations examined. Chile has a particularly high rate of self-employed individuals, primarily because of its large farming class. The income ratio of the top 10% to the bottom 10% is 27 to one.
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